Pros:

-Anything you can do in a city, you can do in-game.

-You can start a business, invest in stocks, get an education to get a proper job, or commit crimes and earn money by pickpocketing old ladies and assassinating political leaders.

-You can waste all your money in the casino, or get lucky and win big only to get mugged on your way to deposit into the bank.

-You can write for the newspaper if you've played the game long enough and has connections to offer you tidbits of juicy insider news.

-You can use your real-life beautiful mug to win the in-game beauty contest for some 5-second fame, or get your hands on extremely rare materials to initiate a terrorist bombing attack in the city causing the airports to shutdown, putting the city on lockdown and giving you some permanent infamy.

-You can get married to another player of the same or different gender and live in their Private Island, or you can get into an argument with them and get kicked out and have to live in your sad little apartment :'(

-You can get a loan and forget to pay it back and now be in debt for hundreds of millions, or you can always pay it back on time consistently to earn that unknown secret achievement for having a high credit no one has ever gotten before (at least not that I know of).

-You can go solo by working for Duke completing missions he assigns you to, or you can join a faction and enjoy some great comradery and excellent teamwork while participating in faction turf wars.

-You can do drugs, drink beer, and work hard for some gains at the gym, or you can take no drug and get a membership at the rare gym with great rates that'd only accept you if you're clean

-You can buy and customize your cars to race your way to the top, or you can find a Ferrari someone threw away in the dump and let it rot in your garage, letting the opportunity to win rare ammo and weapon customizations go to waste.

-You can customize your character with weapons, clothing, and even facial hair. You can dress your guy in a sexy bikini or Japanese schoolgirl outfit, or you can spend ridiculous money to buy that Donald Trump mask and wear it around the city like a dumbass.

-You can monopolize Love Juice so when Valentine's Day comes you can take advantage of the high market demand and make a fortune, or you can just sell your dog's shit and the decapitated heads of your murder victims because Torn City has more than enough freaks who want to collect weird stuff and put them on display in their Display Case.

-You can spend half a billion dollar to bid on a pair of dumbbells in the Auction House, or you can play Russian Roulette with that much money and end up in the hospital with a hole in your foot.

-You can be nice to everyone, make friends, form a found family with your faction mates, and generally have a good time, or you can be an ass and get 100 bounties placed on your head and make the hospital your second home.

Cons:

-can't make babies

PS: Use my link and sign up HERE so we both get rewards